Father, foodie, home cook and tech geek and recent b-school grad. I eat paleo, love CrossFit and wish I would hike more.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Sometimes the Mega Roll isn't such a great deal

Last week, I needed to do some grocery shopping and I was going to squeeze it in while Kid 3 was at swim practice. The Factoria Mall in Bellevue was close by and has a Safeway, so I stopped there.

As I was walking towards Safeway, I remembered that there was Target in the mall. Target has much better prices on things like shaving cream and paper products, so I decided to split my shopping into two chunks and pick up toilet paper and kleenex at Target and the rest of the groceries at Safeway.

Seems like a logical, fiscally prudent thing to do, no?

What I didn't realize was that the Target was on the opposite end of the mall from Safeway and where I parked. But it was no biggie, I knew I was going to get the better price on toilet paper.

In the Target, I found the toilet paper section our brand was on sale! With a small smirk, I knew that I had found the best deal. As I compared prices (interestingly, Target doesn't post per unit pricing like they do at grocery stores), the Mega Roll package was the best deal. Sixteen Mega rolls of the right kind of toilet paper (Ultra Soft, not Ultra Strong) what could be better?

Well, I realized the first downside to the 16 pack Mega Roll. The package is big. Very big. Having a social conscience, I didn't have Target put my paper in a bag, I carried it in my own two hands, back to my car. All the way back to my car. It seemed much further when I was carrying the big package of toilet paper and a several boxes of Kleenex.

I proceeded to buy the rest of my groceries at the Safeway, pick up Kid 3 from swim practice and then return to the Factoria Mall to eat dinner. Since most Saturday's I'm at one of the Starbucks over there, it prompted this tweet.

I was able to get the groceries, the swim bags, Kid 3 and the Mega pack of toilet paper home in my MINI without further incident. A few days later, Kid 2 comes to me and asks whats up with the toilet paper. It wouldn't fit on the toilet paper roll holder!

Kid 2 and I took pictures, which I unfortunately cannot find at the moment. But the roll of toilet paper was 1 inch larger in diameter than the regular sized roll. Because the paper roll is sort of compressible, it would fit, but the roll wouldn't turn. There was so much toilet paper, but you couldn't get it when you needed it most.

So, sometimes the Mega Roll might be the best price per square foot of toilet paper, but in the end, its not such a good deal. At least I got the right kind of toilet paper, not the Ultra Strong kind.

Post ScriptWhile writing this post and looking for the Charmin website, I discovered a free offer, while supplies last, for a Charmin Mega Roll Extender! Why didn't I discover you sooner?